Tag Archives: Afternoon (12pm-6pm)

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Speers Borough, PA – Sprinkler system contains blaze at chemical plant; No injuries reported

Authorities say a fire caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to a chemical plant, but no injuries were reported.

Fourteen fire departments responded shortly before 1:30 p.m. Friday to the blaze at National Polymers Inc. off Interstate 70 near the Monongahela River in Washington County.

The blaze had already been contained by the building’s automatic sprinkler system and prevented the flames from reaching chemicals stored in the plant. Fire crews had the flames out in less than an hour but remained for two more hours venting smoke and making sure the area was clear.

Chief Robert Whiten Jr., of the Charleroi Fire Department, said the blaze appeared to have been accidental but the exact cause wasn’t immediately clear.

Retail, Shopping Mall, Uncategorized

Scottsdale, AZ – Parking garage fire kept in check by sprinkler system; No injuries

Shoppers at Scottsdale Fashion Square were briefly evacuated Thursday afternoon after a car caught fire in one of the shopping center’s parking garages.

The garage’s sprinkler system kept the fire under control until the Scottsdale Fire Department could arrive and fully extinguish the fire, according to Fire Department Capt. Jim Novotny.

The shopping center was re-opened. Novotny said no one was injured in the incident.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Daly City, CA – Residential sprinkler system helps firefighters extinguish townhouse fire

Three residents were displaced by a structure fire reported in Daly City Tuesday afternoon.

Emergency crews were dispatched to a townhouse in the 300 block of Michelle Lane to find flames coming from the rear deck.

As they entered the home they determined that the fire had spread into the family room and attic.

Their efforts to extinguish the fire were aided by the home’s fire sprinkler system as well, firefighters said.

Crews remained on scene for an additional two hours to overhaul the structure.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Pontiac, MI – Apartment fire started by child playing with lighter is put out by sprinkler system

At 1 p.m. Tuesday, a fire was reported on Center Street near Cottage Street at a four-story apartment building in Pontiac.  All residents were evacuated, and the building’s sprinkler system put out the fire before crews arrived.

Later, investigators learned the fire may have started due to a child playing with a lighter. There was minor fire damage to the apartment building, but significant smoke and water damage following the sprinkler system activation, Lyman said.

“It’s important to keep flammables away from children,” said Lyman. “(The residents) were lucky they were able to get out” of the building.

Apartment Building, Residential High Rise

Danville, VA – High rise apartment fire put out by sprinkler system; No injuries

Two Danville House apartments were damaged in a Saturday afternoon fire blamed on unattended cooking. The Danville Fire Department responded to the call on the eighth floor in apartment No. 802 at 600 Main St. at about 1:45 p.m., according to a news release.

A fire in the kitchen had been extinguished by a sprinkler system but filled the apartment with smoke. “After confirming there was no additional fire, the engine company stopped the flow of water from the sprinkler head,” Battalion Chief Brian K. Alderson said in the release. “Water was running down into apartments on the seventh floor.”

Crews redirected water out a window and covered furniture and other valuables with salvage covers, Alderson said. Power to the affected apartments also was turned off. Firefighters stayed on scene until about 340 p.m. There were no injuries.

The apartment on the eighth floor received smoke, heat and water damage, and another apartment on the seventh floor received water damage. The Danville chapter of the American Red Cross is helping one occupant and her pet.

Another occupant will stay with family. “All other tenants were allowed to return to their respective apartments,” Alderson said.  The cause of the fire was unattended cooking, according to the release.

“The DFD reminds everyone to stay alert and in the kitchen when cooking,” Alderson said. “The sprinkler system at the Danville House kept this fire from becoming a large fire that would have displaced many residents.”

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility

Marshall, MO – Sprinklers help extinguish bedroom fire at home for developmentally disabled

A bedroom fire at Northwest Community Services — previously known as the Marshall Habilitation Center — Saturday, June 25, could have resulted in more damage than was done.

According to the Marshall Fire Department, firefighters arrived to a call at NCS shortly before 6 p.m., seeing light smoke. The incident occurred in unit 221, and the unit’s sprinkler system had activated by the time MFD arrived.

“We were there for a while, because of the water damage,” Marshall Fire Chief Tony Day said, indicating there was more water damage than fire damage because the sprinklers “did their job.” MFD started ventilation, removed burnt clothing from the residential unit and turned the scene over to maintenance once they confirmed the fire was out.

After further investigation into the cause of the fire, one of the residents admitted to setting her clothes on fire and flushing the lighter down a toilet, Day said. In addition to destroying clothes, the fire burned the armoire they were stored in and scorched the walls, but not badly. MFD left the scene at 7:15 p.m.

There was an estimated property loss of $10,000, and content loss was estimated at $3,000.

Northwest Community Services, a developmental disability facility, is located at 700 E. Slater Street, in north Marshall.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Peoria, IL – Fire at senior living center controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Peoria Fire officials are investigating a blaze that broke out Thursday at Courtyard Estates at 1117 N. Western Ave. There was a reported explosion from one of the apartments, however officials cannot determine if there actually was one. Fire crews discovered the blaze in an apartment on the fourth floor where they found an air conditioning unit that appeared to have an electrical issue and caught fire. The complex’s sprinkler system activated, according to Battalion Chief Aldo Scott. A fire investigator was called to the scene to determine an official cause. No injuries were reported.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Hutchinson, KS – Chemical fire in student’s apartment confined by sprinkler system

Hutchinson police investigators think a Hutchinson college student was experimenting with mixing chemicals to create an explosion when he caused a fire in his Plaza Towers apartment Tuesday evening. Local authorities also contacted Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation after their investigation revealed the man was sharing his knowledge in chemical bomb making with people in other states, Hutchinson Police Detective Jamie Schoenhoff said.

Police arrested Chase Lee Coble, 22, on suspicion of aggravated arson in an occupied building, unlawful possession of explosives in an occupied building, conspiracy to commit use of explosives and felony criminal damage to property. He has not yet made a court appearance and remains jailed on $12,500 bond.

Firefighters responded to Coble’s apartment at the Plaza Towers, 17 E. Second Ave., at about 4 p.m. after a fire triggered the building’s sprinkler system. The fire itself was small, said Deputy Fire Chief Doug Hanen, and was confined to the top of an upright freezer. He estimated damage from water to the apartment, however, at $4,000 to $5,000.

“After the fire department responded, they discovered numerous chemicals in the apartment they thought might have been meth-lab-related,” Schoenhoff said. “Due to my past history with investigating meth labs, I quickly observed it was not a meth lab but something, in my opinion, more nefarious.”

Police called the State Fire Marshal’s Office, which in turn contacted the South Central Region Homeland Security Hazmat Response Team. All of the chemicals were collected and properly disposed of, Schoenhoff said.

“Mr. Coble is a student at (Hutchinson Community College) majoring in chemistry,” Schoenhoff said. “He’s attended several colleges in other states, in the same major.”

He came to Hutchinson from Salina about a year ago, the detective said.  In talking with Coble and finding items throughout the apartment, they identified at least three chemicals that when mixed with others would create an explosion of flash fire, Schoenhoff said.

“That created a danger to all the occupants of the building,” he said.

The 12-story building has 63 apartments. There also were indications in the apartment that there had been previous fires or explosions there, Schoenhoff said, though none resulted in firefighters responding or significant damage.

“Of equal concern, he’d been communicating with individuals in other states with reference to giving advice and detailing how to make chemical explosives,” he said.

At least one such contact was in Minnesota.  That information, he said, led investigators to contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI.

Investigators seized at least 10 computer servers from the apartment, though all “went through the sprinkler system shower,” he said.

“Right now, we’re handling it at the state level, but everyone is interested in the computer analysis.”

The chemicals, for the most part, Schoenhoff said, are items anyone can purchase and none was illegal in itself to own. The problem, he said, is in mixing them, and Coble admitted to attempting to create explosives.

“He knew his stuff, as far as chemicals and reactions,” Schoenhoff said. “He gave different reasons, some legitimate reasons, as to why he was trying to experiment.”

Police arrested Coble last month on suspicion of driving under the influence and battery on a law enforcement officer, Schoenhoff said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Wilmington, NC – Apartment kitchen fire extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The Wilmington Fire Department was called to the 1000 block of Thomas C Jervay Place Sunday afternoon after receiving a water flow alarm. When firefighters got to the scene just after 1 p.m. they realized an unattended pot of oil had started a kitchen fire.

No one was home when the fire started, but the sprinkler head in the kitchen activated and extinguished the fire. 

“This was an example of home sprinklers doing a great job of keeping a fire from destroying the entire property and saving lives, since this was a multifamily apartment building,” said Public Information Officer David Hines in a statement.

He said the fire was contained to the stove top and only caused minor damage to the hood and cabinets. The damage was estimated to have cost around $3,000 for fire, smoke and water damage from the sprinkler activation.  No injuries were reported.

 

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Spring Hill, TN – Sprinkler system helps contain blaze at GM plant; welding sparks likely cause of fire

About 240 workers were evacuated from the General Motors Spring Hill Manufacturing Facility on Wednesday after a fire broke out on the third floor of one of its production buildings.

Six Columbia and four Spring Hill fire trucks responded to the scene, Columbia Assistant Fire Chief Tim Holt said.

Firefighters received the call at 3:03 p.m. and rushed to GM’s body shop off Nashville Highway and Saturn Parkway.

Crews found an air-handling machine on fire, spreading smoke in the building, Holt said.

“We got it knocked down quickly, within 15 minutes,” Holt said. “The sprinkler system helped keep the fire in place.”

One GM security guard on the scene was treated for smoke inhalation, he said.

The incident likely was caused by welding sparks, which caught cardboard on fire, Holt said.

Columbia’s fire department had 16 firefighters on scene.

GM spokesman Tom W. Wickham said the body shop was closed for the rest of Wednesday evening and will reopen Thursday morning.

“We had to clean up a lot of water and debris,” Wickham said.

A similar incident brought fire crews to the GM plant just after midnight May 20. No one was hurt then, but the building was evacuated.